1 . Technical Field
The invention relates to the distribution of subscription and on-demand audio program material. More particularly, the invention relates to high speed recording of audio program material from a remote source on a subscription and/or on-demand basis using a portable high capacity audio recording and playback device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although much neglected by the public and the press in connection with the current fascination with pay-for-view movies, video-on-demand, and other multimedia services, sound remains the most compelling and informative element in any form of interpersonal or electronic communication. To understand this concept better, consider a television network news broadcast. If the picture portion of the broadcast is lost, one is still able to receive most of the content of the broadcast. However, if the audio portion of the broadcast is lost, one receives almost none of the content of the broadcast.
Radio was the most highly successful entertainment medium until sound motion pictures and television added the visual element to entertainment programming. The state of radio today is such that it provides a source of music, as well as talk and news, especially for those environments that require some level of visual concentration, such as operating a vehicle or machinery, or working in an office. Thus, radio has been pushed into the background as an ancillary form of entertainment.
One can listen to a radio and hear whatever is being broadcast at the time; or one can record a desired piece of music or other program as it is broadcast, and listen to the recording later, for example on an automobile cassette player. One can also transport prerecorded audio program materials, such as tapes and compact disks, and listen to them in the car or on a portable playback device, such as a Walkman.RTM.. Prerecorded audio programming that is available includes music, books on tape, and various educational and entertainment materials.
All known audio program delivery methods have been generally accepted by the public, but they are somewhat limited in their appeal because they are time-consuming to prepare, for example making a recording for later use is time consuming because the recording must be made in real time. They are expensive, for example a compact disk containing a musical performance or a book on tape may only be listened to once or twice, although the full purchase price must be paid for such materials. And they do not offer the variety of program material that is either now available from television cable services, or that is available from other media, such as print media, for example the New York Times or the Wall St. Journal.
There are other significant limitations inherent in an off-the-air recording system that include a lack of control of the choice of program material, and the time at which the subscriber can listen to this material. In current radio broadcast systems, the program material is broadcast when the station manager thinks it best. Such real time distribution requires that interested listeners tune in at the designated time, assuming that the station is willing or able to publicize its broadcast schedule in advance of the broadcast. Even so, a listener must typically endure several annoying interruptions for commercial messages, even if listening to the so-called public radio stations. Prerecorded materials are packaged by the manufacturer and must be used in the format provided, i.e. all of the materials must be listened to in the order they were recorded. Otherwise, the consumer must prerecord the prerecorded materials to edit the content and/or order of the materials, as well as adding other materials that were not included by the manufacturer of the prerecorded programming. As discussed above, the recording process is time consuming, requires a certain level of patience and skill, and is a significant barrier to use for the typical listener. Thus, those persons listening to a broadcast while in their automobiles have less control because they cannot time shift a program by recording the program, although they may nevertheless want to listen to certain programs while traveling. Additionally, those persons listening in the automobiles may want to listen to program material that is not normally available on a public broadcast channel. While those persons listening in their automobiles may listen to recordings that they have purchased or recorded themselves when the program material was originally broadcast, the mobile listener cannot take control of the program selection process and the time at which the program is heard, nor can such materials be combined or edited without a significant commitment of the listener's time to assembling the desired materials, or portions of the desired materials, in the desired order.
The most limiting factor in the expansion of audio related news and entertainment services is probably the lack of program material having the form and content desired by the subscriber, coupled with the lack of a modern customer order and distribution system for such materials for conveniently delivering the program materials in the desired format.
The video-on-demand industry is just evolving. However, the video-on-demand industry has a fundamentally different focus than that of radio or other audio-based program delivery services, i.e. to duplicate a theater-like experience in the viewers home, not offer a commuter or other mobile listener an audio-on-demand or subscription service. The state of the art is therefore concerned with providing video services, not with informing a busy commuter during otherwise idle time spent in an automobile traveling to and from work.
For example, H. Brudner, Computer-Assisted Instruction Via Video Telephone, U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,708(26 May 1969) discloses a teaching system that uses a video telephone as a terminal. The video telephone is tied into a computer and information is fed into the video telephone, while other information is returned to the computer. A video tape recorder, containing a central bank of pre-recorded reels of video tape, is connected to the central processing unit of the computer and the video telephone, such that pictorial representations, as distinguished from the alpha-numerical representations, appear on the screen of the video telephone, enabling interaction with the student. The central bank of pre-recorded reels of video tape is connected to a buffer unit so that selected tape reels can be transfer recorded material into the buffer unit, where it is played back to the student selecting such tape. In this manner, the pre-recorded reels of video tape in the central bank are available almost simultaneously to a large number of students at different terminal units in the teaching system.
See, also, the following:
C. Coddington, J. Gold, D. Klika, D. Konkle, L. Litteral, J. McHenry, A. Richard III, PSTN Architecture For Video-On-Demand Services, U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,347 (27 Sep. 1991), which discloses a public switched telephone network (PSTN) that provides digital video signals from a video information provider to one or more of a plurality of subscriber premises. A subscriber uses either a standard telephone instrument over the PSTN or a dedicated control device over an ISDN packet network to order video programming. The request is transmitted to a designated video information provider and digital transmission connectivity is established between the video information provider and the central office serving the subscriber. Connectivity between the central office and subscriber is provided by asymmetrical digital subscriber line interface units over a local Ioop. The interface units frequency multiplex digital video information with voice information to the subscriber and support transmission of a reverse control channel from the subscriber to the central office for transmission on the ISDN packet data network back to the video information provider. The interfaces also allow base band signaling and audio between the central office and the subscriber for conventional telephone instrument connectivity;
J. Fischer, K. McCalley, S. Wilson, Interactive Multimedia Presentation And Communications System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,410 (2 Mar. 1993), which discloses a system for interactively and selectively communicating particular multimedia presentations to each of a plurality of subscribers along a CATV cable network. The subscriber communicates his selections, both for viewing particular presentations from a menu and for transactions with respect to the information and products being viewed, by entering codes on his Touch-Tone telephone pad. Subscriber input signals are communicated as digital signals through the intercommunications network and response signals are generated, ultimately as analog TV signals for viewing by the subscriber;
D. Rhoades, Telephone Access Information Service Distribution System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,107 (19 Jan. 1993), which discloses a digital, interactive communication system designed to provide a plurality of remote subscribers with any one of a variety of stored information service software packages through the use of a home computing assembly maintained within the subscriber's home and structured to display video as well as generating audio on a standard television receiver. A bi-directional communication link is established over telephone lines between the home computing assembly and a central remote information storage center so that a selected one of the variety of information services is transmitted as a modulated carrier to the subscriber. Information service selection is controlled by a remote information storage center executive software program. Automatic billing is performed by computing equipment maintained in the remote information storage center and transmitted to a headquarters which also receives diagnostic messages associated with the remote information center and/or the associated plurality of home computing elements; and
D. Rhoades, Telephone Access Video Game Distribution Center, U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,822 (24 Sep. 1991), which discloses a digital, interactive communication system that is designed to provide a plurality of remote subscribers with any one of a plurality of stored video games or like software packages through the use of a home computing assembly maintained within the subscriber's home. The assembly is structured to display video as well as generating audio on a standard television receiver, and further incorporates the ability to use contemporary video gaming control devices for subscriber program interaction. A bi-directional communication link is established over the telephone lines between the home computing assembly and the central remote game storage center wherein the software programs are transmitted as a modulated carrier to the subscriber. Program selection is controlled by a remote game storage center executive software program. Automatic billing is performed by computing equipment maintained in the remote game storage center and transmitted to a headquarters which also receives diagnostic messages associated with the remote game center and/or the associated plurality of home computing elements. And, also Pocock et al, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,734,764 and 5,014,125 (a system for conveys still frame video with overlaid graphics and audio to a CATV channel during the vertical blanking interval of a television signal, including subscriber control and selection of display material via operation of a touch tone pad on a telephone); McCalley et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,372 (packet transmission of digital information to a subscriber via a dedicated line/converter); Abraham, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,567,512 and 4,590,516 (telephone subscriber request and scheduling system); Harrison, U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,603 (closed environment entertainment system including subscriber selection and control of program material); Bessler et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,872 (pay for view system for use with cable system having one way addressable converters); Clark et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,684 (telephone selection of video programming for cable television system); Gordon et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,191 (telephone selection of video programming for cable television system); Monslow et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,078 (telephone scheduling of real time video broadcast over a dedicated cable system); Lambert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,522 (telephone selection of video programming for viewing on a cable television system in which a directory channel displays program selections and schedules); Goodman et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,399 (video transmission and control over residential phone lines); and Kleinermann, U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,811 (simultaneous transmission of audio and image frames over standard telephone lines).
Thus, while video distribution systems are being developed and the video-on-demand industry proceeds apace, there is little or no effort going into delivering audio programming, even though many people spend two or more hours a day in their automobiles. Accordingly, an improved, easy to use audio program distribution system would find ready acceptance by the public.